Money race heating up in HISD board elections

The fundraising race is heating up in the Houston school board elections, particularly in the District 7 contest pitting incumbent Harvin Moore against former HISD teacher Anne Sung.

Sung, who oversees strategic planning for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, reported raising $31,678 from July through September. Moore, an executive for an aerospace company, raised $31,100 during the same period, according to campaign finance reports due Monday.

Sung, who has been highly critical of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier’s Apollo school reform program, spent nearly $6,800, nearly twice as much as Moore. She has more than $18,600 on hand, her report says.

Moore, an ardent supporter of Grier, still has a strong war chest, with more than $40,500 on hand.

Harvin Moore (Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle)

District 7 extends from Lee High School in west Houston to Lamar High School near River Oaks.

Moore’s biggest contribution came from Houston philanthropist John Arnold, whose foundation has helped fund HISD’s teacher quality efforts. Arnold made an in-kind contribution of $9,405 for a fundraising event, according to Moore’s campaign finance report.

Sung reported a $10,000 contribution from Edward Allen. Like Moore, she failed to include donors’ occupations and employers on her reports, so Allen’s identity was not immediately clear.

Sung also got support from the Houston Federation of Teachers, including its president, Gayle Fallon, who lives in District 7. Sung’s donors include members of Community Voices for Public Education, a group of HISD parents and educators who have protested standardized testing.

In the District 9 race in south Houston, City Councilwoman Wanda Adams is the fundraising leader, bringing in $14,325 this period. W. Clyde Lemon, an attorney and former HISD board member, raised $5,760. Coretta Mallet-Fontenot, an HISD teacher, raised $1,960, much of it from herself, the reports show.

HISD board president Anna Eastman trumped challenger Hugo Mojica in fundraising this period. She reported raising $17,615 and has about that much on hand. Mojica, executive director of the Northside Chamber of Commerce, raised $2,762. He has $15.74 on hand.

As we reported this month, some candidates are calling for HISD to make the campaign finance reports more easily searchable on HISD’s website. The district typically posts the reports in PDF format on its website for current school board members but not for other candidates. The reports are not yet posted on the district’s site, but the board office scanned them and sent them to me this morning in response to a public information request.

The city of Houston posts reports for all candidates in a PDF format, while state lawmakers typically file electronically with the Texas Ethics Commission. The state reports can be download in a spreadsheet format, making it easier to track donors.

As a refresher, the HISD board has tried to curb the appearance of influence from donors following questions about potential conflicts of interest. A new policy says trustees must abstain from voting on contracts involving donors who contributed more than $500 to their campaigns in the prior year. The district is developing a tracking tool that compares donors to a database of district vendors and their executives.